BURT: GOVERNMENT MUST REWARD EARLY INNOVATORS

4.32.09pm GMT Tue 2nd Mar 2010

Local MP Lorely Burt is urging the Government to change its Clean Energy Cash-Back scheme to ensure that early energy innovators in Solihull can benefit from the scheme.

Government legislation guarantees a fixed, premium rate for renewable electricity fed back into the national grid and obliges power companies to buy this excess power. However, the cash-back scheme pays a much lower rate to early-adopters who installed technology before 15 July 2009 than those who installed the technology after that cut-off date.

Lorely is supporting a Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Motion which is calling on the Government to equalise the rewards given to early and later adopters of the technology.

Commenting, Lorely said:

'The ideas behind the scheme make good sense, both in terms of the environmental benefits and increased security of supply.'

'However, paying early adopters at a lower rate than those who adopted the technology later on sends the wrong message to people and businesses looking to take up this and other energy-savings schemes.

'Penalising those who took a risk and invested in new micro-generation capacity before Feed in Tariffs were available makes no sense whatsoever. The Government should be in the business of rewarding innovation, not punishing those who were ahead of the curve.'